The present invention relates to payload transport and operation, and to facilities for the purposes of transporting and operating a payload in space vehicles.
Generally, it is known to conduct experiments in space vehicles, and the necessary equipment constitutes a payload for such a vehicle. These payloads are, to some extent, separate from the vehicle itself, but are connected to the vehicle mechanically, as well as electrically, and thermally or thermo-technologically. The connection is, more or less, a rigid one, and there is a unambiguous dependency of the operation of the payload and its equipment from the vehicle itself. In addition, payload containers are known which receive, for example, automatically and autonomously working experimentation equipment. For example, such payload containers are of a cylindrical configuration and they are, for example, fixed components in the cargo space of a space vehicle, for example, the "space shuttle".
There is a disadvantage here that the equipment necessary for the experiment has to be matched very closely to the space offered by and available in the payload container. Moreover, exchanging of the payloads and of the container is possible only on ground. Furthermore, the orbiting and flying time, and, therefore, the time available for experimentation in space, is usually limited to a few days. Unfortunately, acceleration, as well as contamination of the immediate environment resulting, for example, from the activities of the astronauts on board of the vehicle, may interfer with the experiment.
In order to accommodate more realistic requirements for the payloads, including, for example, long operating times and interference free environmental conditions for the experiment vehicles have been developed in which the payloads are, in fact, stored in a standardized fashion, which, moreover, permit exchange of containers and rearranging them in outer space. The invention refers to developments along this line.